King ready to face Martinez for governor title

Supporters of Gary King cheer and wave signs before his entrance at the Double Tree Hilton ballroom on Tuesday night to give his victory speech after the Gubernatorial Primaries.

Attorney General Gary King won the spot for Democratic Party candidate for the state governor race last night.

King beat contenders Lawrence Rael, Alan Webber, Linda Lopez and Howie Morales for a chance to face off against incumbent Gov. Susana Martinez in the Nov. 4 general election.

During his acceptance speech, King said his priorities are to stand behind families, working people, teachers and educators and to stimulate state economy.

“We’ve worked hard to get here. But the real hard part of the race starts tomorrow morning,” he said.

Sam Bregman, chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, said the governor’s race has been a spirited one, but candidates did a good job of focusing on the issues and personalities did not come into play.

“Of course we get into these primaries; we get spirited races against each other, but in the end we have one goal and that is to make sure this state turns completely blue,” Bregman said.

Martinez also held a primary election night party Tuesday night.
Supporters of the governor chanted “four more years” as they waited for Martinez to take the stage at Abuelita’s New Mexican Kitchen in the South Valley.

During her speech, Martinez spoke about fostering a diverse economy and supporting small businesses in order to make New Mexico more independent and to focus on the local economy by improving the education system.

“We don’t need an education system, or a governor, that lowers standards for our kids, that tell kids that they’re incapable of learning to read by the third grade, because they can do it,” she said.

Michael Romero, one of the party attendees, said supports the governor because of the change she has brought to education and state government. He said he feels confident Martinez will win in November.

“It’s going to be a lot of work, but I think she can do it,” he said.

Zach Pavlik and Chloe Henson are news editors at the Daily Lobo. Contact them at news@dailylobo.com or by Twitter ZachPavlik and ChloeHenson5.